Wood Display Cabinet/Terrarium *Done!

[maggiemoo]

I am converting a cedar display cabinet into a terrarium and need some advice. I'm not sure what kind of stain to use. I saw stain/polyurethane followed by varathane recommended. There's so many choices in the stain dept though I just want to confirm I'm not going to poison my geckos

For stain I'm thinking Minwax Polyshades- stain and polyurethane 1 step
it says its poisonous Should I be worried?

Followed by Varathane Diamond wood finish water based interior

Also how many coats do I need of each?
I was thinking 2 coats of polyshade and 2 coats of varathane

I'll probably have more questions as I go along, this is my first terrarium build

[alistair]

HOLY what a score this should help you out

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5512&p=42173&hilit=stain#p42173

[maggiemoo]

I ended up not staining it and just went with varathane water based and lots of it...
Thank you for pointing that post out though I would have never thought of beeswax. Maybe I'll polish it with beeswax after just to be on the safe side.

Here's the progress so far. I removed most the glass, shelves and hardware, sanded and filled the wood, as well as repaired the door (its slightly cracked so it wasn't fitting into the door frame properly), 2 coats of varathane (probably going to do 1 or 2 more).


Still undecided what to do about ventilation.
1) Drill holes in the top and back. Wasn't sure if this was a good idea being cedar. Would I need to finish inside the holes?
-Or-
2)Replace the glass door with a screen. Wouldn't be as pretty but would also lighten the door up. I'm worried about putting the glass back in the frame, I'm pretty sure the weight or the glass combined with the softness of the wood is what damaged it in the first place. Here's some pics of the door mess so you can see what I'm dealing with .


That L bracket thingy was our repair to try and pull the cracked wood back together and straighten out the door. There's one in each corner. Between the bracket and the hinge there's a huge crack that I filled with wood glue but its still kinda warped.

[Kitten]

If it was me, I would probably just replace the door (or one of the other sides) with screen, instead of using the glass. But then, I'd be wary of JUST drilling holes at any time. Even when I had my geckos in their temporary rubbermaid bins, I still replaced a good chunk of the top with screen. With holes, if there are too few, or they are too small, the tank might stay too humid, I'd think. While some humidity is good, too much isn't. Then.. If the holes are too big... Crickets could possibly get out, if you feed them. They can squeeze out of pretty small spaces, I've had escapees from the 1/4 inch holes meant for tubes/cables in my terrarium. At least, that's my thinking.

[maggiemoo]

So I ended up going with screen, but now I'm a little worried about cats vs. screen. I used coated aluminum window screen and it sorta stretched out after I installed it (cats walked on it grr). Mostly I'm concerned that the cats will bat at the geckos if they walk on the screen, especially since the screen now moves when touched.

[Herp-Keeper]

Whenever I build a cage top I always clamp a piece of metal screen from Reno Depot (Rona) or Home Depot (the screen comes in rolls) between two wooden frames so it's taught. First I staple is to one frame, then I lay down No More Nails, lay down the second frame on top of it, and screw it down. My cats have jumped, leaped, and slept on every cage top I've made with no break throughs. And I'm talking cats that have weighed 20 lbs. Just thought I'd offer that as a suggestion.

[maggiemoo]

Terrariums done, at least for now...
I was to lazy to take the screen out and do it again so I added some plexiglass at the bottom to keep the cats away from the screen. I thinks it's pretty secure I just didn't clamp it before stapling/ gluing so it's not as tight as I'd like. Now I know the trick to it at least





I bought alot of the plants from the local collages horticultural program (St. Clair). I was shocked at what a steal they were. Good thing they were cheap though I won't feel as bad if I kill them.
Rona also had the earthstars on clearance $1.00 that's why there's so many of them.


Staghorn Fern before I split this monster plant in two

Snake Plant, Devils Ivy, Dracaena


Sad Moth Orchid... had leaf rot I think so I had to amputate

And the Grand Finale

[Insurrection]

wow, the finished product looks great,
now when you stop to take a look you'll know all that work paid off